...'87 300D Noisey Lifters???...
 

...My 6 cyl 300D with somewhat more than 200K on it is starting to pump the oil out out the hydraulic lifters... ...Sometimes it is just one or two but on occasion it is all of them... ...The previous owner replaced the lifters about 50 K ago... ...It has Shell Rotella 15/40 oil in it and was changed about 1000 miles ago... ...Is this a common occurance???...

it's doing what?
I'm new to the 603 so I don't have much experience with it, but I have a torn down 602 which is pretty much the same motor (minus one cylinder) how do you check this oil pumping? and are you sure it's a problem? they are hydrolic lifters. are you hearing a noise? I know the VP is an issue with these cars, and the belt tensioner is as well. I know some members have had ticking or clacking lifters, so I'm just gathering info myself.

Many claim that Mobil 1 will eventually clear it up.

I am also wondering if the PO replaced all of the lifters, and with what (OE/aftermarket).

Replacing the hydraulic lifters isn't too difficult, just be sure you follow the FSM about the order to release the camshaft bolts in.

I would try Mobil 1 synthetic for 3000 miles first though, it's worth a shot - it has helped some bad lifters on my car.

my '87 has been on jackstands for several months while I put a 5spd in...
my lifters were loud as hell yesterday when I started it for the first time. It was loud enough that I kept checking the oil expecting it to be empty. Well today the noise is gone. It did the same thing the last time I had it out of service for a long time. I try not to worry too much about it.

What's the technical consequence of bad (or noisy) lifters?

When I got my 1987 300TDT at 155k, the lifter/lifters has a solid noisy tap to them. After a while, I changed over to synthetic Mobil 1 Turbo Truck Diesel. That helped tremendously! Sometimes I get a tap for a bit, but only till the oil gets to where it needs to go.

When I rebuilt my head and re-installed, I got the occasional tick-tick. I mixed up the "valve tappet hydraulic element" (proper MB terminology) order when I took them out and replaced at rebuild time (I did not replace them, just used the old ones). Once running again, it became pretty persistent after about 2K miles on an oil change. When I changed the oil, it would go away and then come back about 2K miles later. I use Rotella T6.

The head has been on about 20K miles now. The ticking has gone away. I guess they got "settled" in.

...Thanks everyone... ...The Previous owner did replace all the lifters with aftermarket... ...He was led to believe that there is only one manufacturer of replacement lifters???

... I will give Mobil 1 synthetic a shot ... ...I'm so used to my 5cyl cars, (engine wise), and my 12 valve Cummins being, for the most part, being trouble free that the idiosycracies with this car are somewhat perplexing...

...I guess with KW block seal having remedied the coolant loss I should go after the hard shifting issue,(I will start with vacuum troubleshooting)... ...The trans has never been rebuilt at over 200K but the previous owner put a new front seal and front pump seal in it... ...When I got the car it had been sitting for about a year and there was a one lifter tick...

...As I live in two different places, the car had been sitting for about six months prior to my starting to drive it again... Maybe this has something to do with it's current lifter issues???...

KW block seal? where was the leak? I'm against any sealing additives in these motors. the head is sooo fragile, anything that could plug up any cooling passages scares the bejesus out of me.

...There was a leak but I'm not 100% sure it was all from the engine...I was smelling antifreeze inside the car and it is possible the heater core was leaking... ...because some oil showed up in the coolant resevoir,...I assumed it had cracked the 14 series head???...

...As a last resort I tried KW and surprise,...following the directions exactly,...it worked... ...I have put maybe 1000 miles on it but it hasn't been exposed to the heat of summer yet... ...I may just be driving on borrowed time,...I don't know for sure...

...Here's what I know for sure,..The air bows cold,...the car no longer runs a tad warm,...it looses no coolant:...plus the antifreeze smell inside the car is gone and the greasy feel to a spot on the carpet by the peddles is gone... ...Dunno???...

...(the excess KW is drained and not left in the cooling system)...

Update on the noisy lifters please?

heck, I'd love an update on the KW block seal and his summer driving!

Yeh...that stuff is scary for me too. Which is why I have a spare 603 around. For $360 ;)

I ALWAYS bang a litre of cheap ATF into the engine oil 250 miles before I do an oil change.

ATF is full of detergents, keeps the inside of the engine lovely, and cleans out lifters etc.

You can also put a litre of ATF in a diesel tank now and again to clean the injectors... on a diesel when I do a fuel filter change I prime the filter with neat ATF.

My oil is still clean 1,000 miles after an oil change, not manky 10 miles after.